UNLV formally unveiled on Friday, Aug. 24, the solar dish power generation system recently installed on the north side of campus along Flamingo Road.
The solar dishes serve as the focal point of a UNLV Center for Energy Research project.
The two-year, federally funded project will enable engineering faculty in UNLV's Center for Energy Research to demonstrate and refine the functioning of the solar power system and to instruct UNLV students in solar energy technology engineering and design.
Both dishes have computers that control dish movement and operation, and both function in the same fashion: by tracking the sun and reflecting the sun's energy to the focal point of the dish where an engine generator transforms the solar heat energy into grid-quality electrical power.
Each dish has an attached Stirling cycle engine; one of the engines was produced by Stirling Energy Systems Inc. and the other by STM Power Corp. The engine, which is considered the most efficient solar power generator available, can convert between 25 and 30 percent of the solar energy collected by the dish into electrical power. The two-dish system is designed to produce about 50 kilowatts of electrical power.
The dish system is the result of a $1 million federal grant, $200,000 of which was awarded to UNLV for its part in the project. The two solar dish manufacturers - SAIC/STM and SES - each received about $400,000 of the grant to relocate their solar dish structures and associated hardware to UNLV. The Department of Energy, which is the funding agency, is managing the project. Nevada Power Co. is also assisting on the project.
"We are delighted that UNLV has had the opportunity to have a major role in refining this cutting-edge technology," said UNLV President Carol C. Harter. "It is yet another indication of the level of sophistication of our research here at UNLV, as well as our interest in partnering with government agencies and private industry to serve the community. It is a very exciting project."
The installation of these two dishes on UNLV's campus is the first phase of a larger project being planned; if funded, the larger project will deploy a system with as many as 40 dishes at another, yet-to-be-determined Southern Nevada site within the next few years. This project would be a "mini-power plant," with a capacity to produce as much as one megawatt of power. UNLV will assist in the planning and development of this project.
For now, engineering faculty members in UNLV's Center for Energy Research are working to monitor the reliability of the dish technology. After the current phase is complete, the two dishes now located on campus will be moved to a different location for commercial power generation purposes.
Another goal for the UNLV team working on the project is to provide training and education.
"The development of a base of highly trained technicians and engineers will be important to the advancement of the solar dish industry and the future deployment of the systems," said UNLV engineering professor Robert Boehm, the project's principal investigator.
U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, who was instrumental in bringing the federal funding for the project to UNLV, said, "Renewable energy sources, such as this solar energy system, are key to ensuring we can meet the demand for power in Nevada. The faculty and staff at UNLV are doing exceptional work with this solar energy technology. I look forward to their ongoing success with this alternative energy project as I work with my Senate colleagues to provide continued funding for solar energy research."
Dr. Ronald Sack, dean of UNLV's Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering, said that he is pleased that this project could achieve so many important goals.
"This project typifies the research being conducted in our college," Sack said. "While it seeks to advance knowledge and produce useful results, it also involves student and faculty in the best kind of collaborative learning experience."
Dr. Thomas Mancini, who is the DOE project manager and a representative of the solar thermal technology department of Sandia National Laboratories, said, "We are very pleased with the enthusiastic support of the faculty, staff, and administration of UNLV for the solar dish project. We welcome the opportunity to work with the university, the solar industry, and state and federal governments to exploit Nevada's outstanding solar resource to produce electricity."
Dr. Barry Butler, who is both the manager of the SAIC/STM Power Dish/Stirling Program and the chairman of the Concentrating Solar Power Division of the Solar Energy Industry Association, said, "This is the gateway to clean power generation for the citizens of the Southwest. These citizens will receive the benefits of the 'four E's' of solar: employment, environment, energy, and export."
David J. Slawson, chairman and CEO of Stirling Energy Systems, says pairing Nevada's bounty of solar radiation and market-ready solar energy technology comes at an ideal time.
"We have the technology to harness this abundant energy source and generate power that is reliable, cost-competitive and meets peak demands. Our partnership with UNLV provides an incredible opportunity to bring these benefits to Nevada and, soon, to the entire country," he said.
Frank Wilkins, team leader for the DOE's Concentrating Solar Power Program, said, "Nevada is the fastest growing state in the fastest growing region of the United States. This, fortunately, is also the region that possesses the country's most abundant supply of solar energy. The project now under way at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is a major step toward turning the energy from the sun into power for people."
